Ex Vivo (#2 EX TRILOGY)

Chapter 9

A group of Nigerian girls were laughing hysterically around a table with their boyfriends. Once in a while, a couple of guys passing buy would glance at the table, stare at the boyfriends with envy and walk away. It was understandable because they knew those gentlemen were not students, but had been 'delivered' to those ladies, and most of the guys on campus were losing the ladies speedily to this new online dating system that had taken over. The party was sponsored by Ex Vivo management, and so people with Boos and Baes entered without restriction.

"What's your Boo's name, Irene?" a very slim lady called Ifioma asked her friend while stroking the hair of her own Boo on whose laps she sat. "Mine is called 'Daystar'." The ladies cheered her with loud hisses. She smiled gleefully. "You guys have no idea how sweet he is. He brings the daylight into me every moment. He's just wow. I tell you!"

"Ifioma for you!" Irene laughed. "I can only imagine. Can we do a Boo-swap? Please?"

"Nooooo!" the other ladies bellowed. Their boyfriends joined in the laughter. Two of the ladies, Chineye and Chioma were twins, and their Boos whom they named 'P-Square', namely Pedro and Pierre, were twin Boos too. They were busily snogging them and people passing by found it distracting.

"Oh but seriously, what's wrong with your Boo?" Ifioma asked Irene, whose Boo was rather plump. "You are the one who decided to have a Boo as plump as you. Do you think I can handle him? No offense, Obi." She winked at Irene's Boo who smirked back at her.

"It's all right," Obi said. "Every person is entitled to their choice. The one who lacks responsibility will end up being choked by the very thing they chose. It is karma."

Irene became angry at once and glared at her Boo. "What is that supposed to mean?" she asked quickly. "I warned you about these things. I didn't ask you to be smart in an offensive way. I asked you to be smart because I am attracted to that too. Don't make me angry."

Obi blinked. "I am not your order. You are raising your voice at me. We're in public. Kindly behave yourself."

Without warning, Irene slapped Obi with all her strength, but regretted doing so because Obi's head barely moved under the impact of the strike, and Irene yelped in pain as she ogled at her trembling hand throbbing with excruciating pain. She was so sure she had hit him on a spot that touched his bone directly. The others looked shock, but the other Boos looked on silently. "What?! How dare you!" Irene gasped as her eyes filled with tears. "How can I keep my promise not to hit you again if you keep disgracing me in public?"

Chineye frowned at Irene. "You're sounding like you made the wrong Boo order. Aren't you the one who requested for those specs?"

Irene massaged her sore wrist and sighed angrily. "No. Well - I felt shy about telling you this, but - I got Obi through a Boo-swap. I gave mine to someone else. I think she tricked me."

"Seriously?" Chioma chuckled. "What was wrong with yours?"

Irene shook her head and sniffed. "I don't know. I just felt going for a slim guy would make him treat me as inferior. You know me naa. I don't like to hear people talk about my weight like that."

"But why did you hit him?" a lady called Umi asked angrily. "I don't understand."

"Guys, guys, guys - this is supposed to be a party. No slacking, yeah?" Pedro boomed and rose to his feet as he raised his cup. "A toast, please? To the most remarkable slap we have ever seen before!" The others laughed, including Irene and Obi who seemed to have ignored the slap instantly, and they raised their cups and drank to the toast.

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"I think I have spotted four or five so far - including ladies. They don't look like everyone else. They appear very conspicuous because of their eyes," Akoma told Lucy on phone as she watched Suzy and Stallion dancing together.